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LED Headlights and Wipers in snow?

Slowpoke

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SNOW COVERED LED head lights and fog lights. Central, Ohio. 30°, moderate snow. Less than a 15min drive, 55mph. Headlights and fog lights covered with snow. I realize that I am not the first to have this happen, but add me to the count. I assume Jeep is working on a remedy for this...
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sost1sg

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Yep me too. This is tonite. Marginal temps (~32) and driving 60. Definitely not hot enough to melt. I also treat my lenses with Plexus and that doesn’t appear to work either. Feel like engineers should have known this. Still love my jeep tho!

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BCH

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Most of the vehicles I have owned, including the '99, 2012, and now the 2019 JLUR, have had issues with headlights becoming covered with snow in certain conditions, i.e snow/freezing rain/ heavy wet snow.

I keep a spray bottle of Rain-X windshield washer in my vehicles; and if I remember it, I spray the lights before starting out. It helps but does not completely eliminate the problem. If the snow/ice is building up on the areas of the windshield not covered by the wipers, it is sure to be building up on the headlights, etc. unless you have the aftermarket lights with heaters.
 

pablo_max3045

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In other vehicles with LEDs this is also a problem. Projectors tend to make a lot of heat and so it was not an issue.
Typically if you live in an area with snowfall, people would order heated headlight cleaning nozzles. They are quite effective at removing snow and crap from the road. I would think in a Jeep this would actually be a useful thing to have. Squirt off the mud without having to leave the cabin.
There are headlight washer kits on the market. Not specifically for the wrangler of course.
 

biggprikk

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Yep you're right. Didn't do my research. I guess some after market LED's I had before were heated so I assumed Jeep would have done the same with their OEM. And especially when I've read in this thread that people claimed the lights were heated.

And to add, no, not 'everybody' knows. Don't have to be an ass.
Yes he does. Genetic.
 

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cjaama

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There are headlight washer kits on the market. Not specifically for the wrangler of course.
Based on a cursory search, there are aftermarket options… although I have no clue if it would work.
http://www.delonixradar.com.au/hid-xenon/accessories/headlight-washer-kit/

I have no words for people who provide blasé responses about pulling over and clearing off your headlights. Especially when they’re from a city where some snow makes national news. There aren’t many things more dangerous (or annoying for that matter) than getting out of your vehicle on a highway during a snow storm to clear off your headlights.
 

pablo_max3045

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atxrickyricky

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I bought my JL last week and drove home immediately in the last blizzard of the season (so far) for 2 hours. It was not a nice drive! The LEDs gave me quite a bit of snow blindness due to reflected light off of the snow.

I'll keep an eye on this thread. I'm pretty sure the headlights were snow covered as well, but I didn't get out to check. Just drove 25 on the highway while hondas passed me on the left.

We get a bit of snow out here so this is a concern of mine. One cannot avoid driving in the snow when you live in Colorado.

I have a difficult time believing this isn't known about in Fiat. Everything else about this vehicle is amazing, but if you can't see when you're driving in a moderate amount of snow it all goes out the window....
 

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Yesterday was one of the days I’m happy to have the non-LED halogen bulbs. Weather in Chicagoland was crazy and a few errands ended up leaving a frozen mess. Saw another LED JLU and could barely make out his headlights as I passed him, but as you can see the standard halogens gave off enough heat to melt the mess.

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Steevr

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Yesterday was one of the days I’m happy to have the non-LED halogen bulbs. Weather in Chicagoland was crazy and a few errands ended up leaving a frozen mess. Saw another LED JLU and could barely make out his headlights as I passed him, but as you can see the standard halogens gave off enough heat to melt the mess.

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LEDs here in Chicago last night and couldn’t see crap. Everything iced over. Then a big pile of snow cake off the hard top and covered the entire windshield. Wipers would not work. Had to pull over on the side of the busy road and clear everything off. From now on, I will have to make sure the roof is clear too.
 

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golden809

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This happened to me last night. I was pissed. $55K for a car that has this problem is crazy. It is a safety issue. Pulling to the side of the road to clean them is a safety issue. Never happen ended on any other Jeep (of the 11 that I have owned). I am going to try to Rain-ex my headlights with the polish and see if that helps. I called 788-I am Jeep and they said go to the dealer. I went to the dealer. He put it on my file, after he said 877 I am What? So he told me to call customer service. This is a potential suit but that takes too long and too many lives. I’ll go with several coats of Rain ex first.
 

DanW

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This happened to me last night. I was pissed. $55K for a car that has this problem is crazy. It is a safety issue. Pulling to the side of the road to clean them is a safety issue. Never happen ended on any other Jeep (of the 11 that I have owned). I am going to try to Rain-ex my headlights with the polish and see if that helps. I called 788-I am Jeep and they said go to the dealer. I went to the dealer. He put it on my file, after he said 877 I am What? So he told me to call customer service. This is a potential suit but that takes too long and too many lives. I’ll go with several coats of Rain ex first.
Be careful with Rain-X. Last I looked, it warned against applying to plastic. I've used Turtle Wax Ice on mine and it does help. It doesn't cure the problem, though, especially in a heavy wet snow.

I'd recommend a set of Hella 500 Black Magic lights on your front bumper. I ran a set last year and while it only happened one time, it was nice to have them as a back-up. I've since moved to Baja Designs LP6 lights, as I needed some more lighting off-road, but they get hot enough that they can be used on low setting if the headlights freeze over. The Hellas worked, though, and are inexpensive and look good, too.
 

golden809

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Be careful with Rain-X. Last I looked, it warned against applying to plastic. I've used Turtle Wax Ice on mine and it does help. It doesn't cure the problem, though, especially in a heavy wet snow.

I'd recommend a set of Hella 500 Black Magic lights on your front bumper. I ran a set last year and while it only happened one time, it was nice to have them as a back-up. I've since moved to Baja Designs LP6 lights, as I needed some more lighting off-road, but they get hot enough that they can be used on low setting if the headlights freeze over. The Hellas worked, though, and are inexpensive and look good, too.
 

golden809

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I called FCA and the lady said “no this is bad we’re sending this right upstairs” so a manager is supposed to call me and we’ll see where that goes. Thanks I will go with the turtle!
 

Levi8than

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I called FCA and the lady said “no this is bad we’re sending this right upstairs” so a manager is supposed to call me and we’ll see where that goes. Thanks I will go with the turtle!
WOW! I did not get a response like this. Let us know what comes of it.

As for local fix: Has anybody tried the aftermarket headlights from JW speaker (Quadratec site)? I hear they leave a ring of gap around them, which is ugly, but I have not seen photos yet.

Edit: looks like there are many options now, some under $500
https://www.quadratec.com/p/delta-tech/sealed-hilo-led-headlight-kit-jeep-wrangler-jl-gladiator-jt
https://www.quadratec.com/p/jw-spea...ight-pair-mounting-kit-jeep-wrangler-jl/black
https://www.quadratec.com/p/quadratec/premium-heated-led-projector-beam-headlights-jeep-wrangler-jl
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